Entrepreneurs Unplugged is a meeting place where faculty, students and community members with technical backgrounds learn about and get involved in entrepreneurship. In particular, the program offers students, faculty and the Front Range startup community an opportunity to learn how a successful startup is created as well as an opportunity to network. Each Entrepreneurs Unplugged meeting features food, drink and - most importantly - an experienced entrepreneur to discuss his/her start-up experiences.

Speaker: Larry Gold
Dr. Larry Gold is the founder and chairman of the board, and past CEO of SomaLogic. Prior to SomaLogic, he also founded NeXagen, Inc., which later became NeXstar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In 1999, NeXstar merged with Gilead Sciences, Inc. to form a global organization committed to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel products that treat infectious diseases.

During nearly 10 years at NeXstar, Dr. Gold held numerous executive positions including chairman of the board, executive vice president of R&D, and chief science officer. Before forming NeXagen, he also co-founded and served as co-director of research at Synergen, Inc., a pioneering biotechnology company later acquired by Amgen, Inc. Since 1970, Dr. Gold has been a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. While at the university, he served as the chairman of the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Department from 1988 to 1992.

Dr. Gold has received many citations including the CU Distinguished Lectureship Award, the National Institutes of Health Merit Award, the Career Development Award, and the Chiron Prize for Biotechnology. In addition, Dr. Gold has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1993 and the National Academy of Sciences since 1995.

Dr. Gold also serves on the board of directors of CompleGen and Plato BioPharma, and is a member of the Insitute for Genome Biology External Advisory Board at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.